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Monday, April 10, 2017

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an overbooked United Airlines flight

An Asian man was forcibly taken off an
overbooked United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky,
after refusing to give up his seat to airline employees who needed to be
in Louisville on Monday

Washington
D.C. Democratic Delegate Eleanor Nortor, a senior member of the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has officially called for a
congressional hearing into United Airlines’ removal of a passenger from
a flight.
In a statement, Norton said:

“I deplore the violent removal of a passenger from a
United Airlines flight this weekend. Airline passengers must have
protections against such abusive treatment. I am asking our committee
for a hearing, which will allow us to question airport police, United
Airlines personnel, and airport officials, among others, about whether
appropriate procedures were in place in Chicago and are in place across
the United States when passengers are asked to leave a flight.”

Norton will also be sending a letter to House Transportation
Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Aviation Subcommittee
Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) to inquire about the practice of
overbooking, over which this incident occurred.
United Airlines was recently in hot water for denying entry onto a flight to two teenage girls because they wore leggings.
United CEO Oscar Munoz released a tone-deaf statement apologizing
that the airline had to “re-accommodate” the passenger whom they
violently dragged off the flight. If that was “re-accommodating,” I
can’t imagine what a “forceful removal” must look like.
Once the congressional hearing date is set, United is going to wish their only PR issue was for leggings.